Battle of the Sexes
by keru.m
Summary: Harm and Mac lock horns.


Disclaimer: Don't own'em.

A/N: Hello again! Here, as promised, is that two-part story I'd mentioned in 'Morning Light'.

This takes place right when Harm comes back from flying, after he makes that comment about Mic to Mac, and then apologizes for it.

..

**Battle of the Sexes 1/2**

Mac glared at the file in front of her, re-reading her notes on her interview with her client. She was seething.

"Whose murder are you planning?"

She looked up to see a very amused Harm standing in her doorway. She glared fiercely at him. Men, she wanted to answer. Every single one of them.

Harm's grin only widened as he took a seat. "I could hear you growling all the way from my office," He teased. "Even with your door closed and your blinds drawn. What's up? Anything you want to talk about?"

Mac reminded herself that just because Harm was a man, it didn't mean he was a jerk. Even if she was still mad at him for his comment earlier in the day, and his butting in with unwanted advice on her friendship with Mic. She sighed. At least he was offering an opportunity to vent, and right now she needed that.

"I'm sure you read about Captain Howard in the paper."

Harm nodded. "Wasn't he caught red-handed in a prostitution ring bust? When his ship was docked for Fleet Week?"

"That's him," She confirmed. "It became a PR nightmare. He's being charged with adultery to pacify the masses. And I'm his defence council."

Harm winced, "Ouch."

Mac couldn't tell if it was in sympathy for her, or for Howard. By the look on his face, he seemed to be on Howard's side.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow, the question sounding more confrontational than the situation merited. A few words with Harm was enough to revise her earlier thought: All men were jerks. She'd had enough of them for one day, what with Mic's relentless pursuit, Harm's presumptuous behaviour, and Howard's ridiculous rationalization for his actions. Hell, with all of that on her plate, she'd had enough of men for a solid few months.

Harm put his hands up in defence. "Power down, Marine. I didn't say anything."

"But I know that look of yours, Harm. You feel bad for the guy," She accused. "Do you know him? Or is this another pilot thing?"

"I've never met him, Mac. But from what I've heard, he's a stellar officer and aviator, with a record to match."

Mac rolled her eyes and tried to keep a hold on her temper. "Which completely justifies his actions."

"A lot of sailors find..." He trailed off, no doubt trying to find a delicate way to phrase his opinion, "...company while in port, Mac. Howard was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"His wife wants a divorce." Mac informed Harm, not bothering to hide her spite. "That's what he's more worried about." She organized the papers on her desk with more force than necessary. "I told him I couldn't help him with that. Not my job."

"Well, it's not unheard of for married men to also seek out company. Being deployed for months, away from home..."

Mac stared at Harm, unable to school her surprise into a glare of disapproval. "Are you justifying his actions?"

"No, I'm just offering his perspective on this." He crossed an arm over his chest and pointed a finger at her, taking that holier-than-thou stance of his. "As his attorney, you-"

"You don't need to spout that bullshit at me, Harm." She saw red. That arrogant, no-good... "I'm not some neophyte lawyer." She ground out, "I know full well what Howard's views on all this are, and I am representing him to my full abilities. You asked me how I was doing, and I'm venting. Can I at least do that without you assuming I'm giving my client the short end of the stick."

"Alright, alright. Take a breath," He said, and she decided he perhaps sounded a bit apologetic. Until he forged ahead with the rest of his statement: "It's just that men have a different view about ... this."

She raised an eyebrow, knowing it contained the full measure of her contempt for his statement. So much for apologetic. He was hell bent on pissing her off.

"Some men," He amended at her expression, but Mac was not convinced.

"That was Howard's claim, by the way." She informed Harm of her client's rationale, one that she didn't believe for even a minute. "He tried to convince me, probably because his wife wasn't buying it. Said he wasn't really cheating because a prostitute is an anonymous encounter. Physical release. Attraction without more substantive content," She looked Harm in the eye, and found a strange set of emotions lying there as he watched her. "Nothing personal."

Harm rolled his eyes. "And that," He said, "Is the problem with women. They can't tell apart physical attraction from honest emotion. You assume that if a man hits on you, he has romantic feelings for you. And you equally think that if a man has sex with one woman, then he can't have romantic feelings for another."

"The problem with women?" Mac repeated the first part of his statement, because the rest was just to crazy to process.

"You mix up love and sex." He clarified.

"Oh, that's rich. And you're saying men don't?"

"A man can love his wife, Mac, but not find their sex life fulfilling. Just as a man can feel nothing whatsoever for a woman, but still have incredible sexual encounters with her."

"And women can do the same with men. The difference is that men like to pretend sex and love are two separate things, when one actually enhances the other. "

"That's just a woman's way of rationalizing commitment out of sex."

She arched an eyebrow, "Is that your justification?"

He did a visible double take, his face transforming into a mask of indignant protest. "What! I've never cheated on a woman!"

She clicked her tongue, dismissing his acceleration from 0 to a 100 in not even a second. "I mean the flirting. No matter if you're dating someone or not, you never stop flirting with other women."

"That's not true," He replied, rather lamely.

"I've seen you. Whether you are involved with someone or not, you always flirt with women." She was maybe - just maybe - more curious than angry right now. "Is that why you do it? Physical attraction and emotional intimacy are so separate that flirting doesn't matter?"

He stared at her for a moment, before regrouping. "You're changing the subject."

"You're not answering the question."

"So you think men should stop talking to women when they are in a relationship?" He kept changing the subject. Mac shook her head at his evasiveness.

"You're twisting my words. I'm just saying that men are no more capable of divorcing emotional intimacy from physical intimacy than women are. They just like to pretend they are. A man will cheat on a girlfriend or spouse if he is emotionally dissatisfied in a relationship, as much as he would if he were physically dissatisfied."

"The two are different things, Mac. One night stands are a case in point."

"Just because you have sex once, and then never see a person again, it does not mean you don't form a connection with them. And it definitely doesn't mean that you aren't looking for something that is missing in whatever long-standing relationship you are in." She couldn't help the jab. "Even if you are the type who leaves before the woman wakes up."

"Wait! _I_ am the type?"

"I meant men in general, Harm. Not you specifically." And then she grinned at him in teasing, "Or did that comment hit too close to home."

He gave her a wry look in response. "Right. And men who spend the night with you stick around to make you breakfast. But that," He said, crossing his arms over his chest, "Is not a sign of an emotional connection. Hate to break it to you, Mac, but the guy is just saying thanks."

"You are such a romantic," She shook her head, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Harm laughed. "See. Exactly what I mean by women mixing up sex and affection. You think that a guy does romantic things because he's committed or because he thinks you're special. Truth is it's just another weapon in the arsenal."

"You cannot judge all men by your standards."

"I didn't say all." He protested. "I said some. In fact," He amended, "Most. There might be a few exceptions. Maybe somewhere in Ohio."

"I had no idea you were such a cynic." And she felt a bit bad for all the women who'd fallen for the man in front of her. Hell, at this moment she felt a bit bad for herself.

"The problem, Mac, is that you are a romantic. You think that when a man shows interest in you he likes you. Truth is, he just wants to hit the sheets."

She stared at him. He couldn't be serious. But then, he'd said the same thing earlier in the day ... _No man wants to be just friends with you_. At the memory of that statement, her anger returned full force. Was this what he'd been getting at this entire conversation? Any reply she could make was cut off by a knock on her door. Which was just as well for Harm because she was now downright pissed off and he would not have emerged from this exchange intact.

"Enter," She called curtly, still glaring at Harm who, at seeing the look on her face adopted one that was equal parts alarmed, apologetic and stubborn.

Mic Brumby stuck his head in the door. "Afternoon, Colonel," He grinned at her, before turning to Harm with a nod, "Commander."

"Hey, Mic," Mac greeted him, pointedly ignoring the way Harm rolled his eyes.

"I heard about your case, with the cheating aviator. Tough break," Mic sympathized.

"For whom?" Mac scowled. Was every male in this building going to take Howard's side?

He took a step back, his eyes widening in surprise, even as he broke into a grin. "For you, Mac. That bastard deserves whatever comes his way."

Mac was somewhat mollified. "Sorry, Mic. It's been a tough case, and a rough day." She made a point of glaring at Harm. He was too busy frowning at Brumby to notice.

"Understandable," Mic said amiably. "I just came by to drop off my report on the McTierney investigation," He handed her a file. "But if you need an ear," He smiled, "You know where to find me."

"Thanks, Mic." She watched him shut her office door as he left, her attention only called back to Harm by his distinctly displeased scoff.

"What was that?" She was fast losing patience with him.

"You encouraging Brumby is a prime example."

"Example?" She felt her anger boil.

"C'mon, Mac. The guy's a shark."

The gall of the man. "We covered this, Harm. It's none of your business. I'm a big girl and I've come this far without intrusive brothers."

"You are letting your silly notions of romance cloud your better judgment."

"Mic and I are friends!" She exclaimed defensively, and then immediately asked herself why she even felt the need to respond to him, "And I don't know why I'm even justifying myself to you." Who did he think he was anyways. Brother her freakin' foot. "Don't you have work to do?"

He shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable. As well he should, she thought, sticking his nose into her affairs with silly advice. "If Brumby respected you," He said, instead of taking the hint and leaving, "He wouldn't hit on you at every opportunity."

"How did he hit on me just now!" She exclaimed. She crossed her arms and stared down the most stubborn man she'd ever encountered. "He came in, asked if I was okay and handed me a file!"

"If you need an ear," Harm mimicked Mic, getting a bit worked up himself. "He was clearly making a pass at you." He declared.

"You came in here to ask me the same thing," She reminded him, exasperated by his complete lack of reason, "You said, and I quote: 'Anything you want to talk about'!"

"It's not the same thing!" He protested with conviction.

"Are we back to that?" She huffed.

"For god's sake, Mac. I care about you!" He replied, far too loudly for her office space. "Sue me! Like I said: a guy that really cares about a woman is not only interested in sex!"

He said nothing of the sort! "You did not say that!" She jumped out her chair and put her palms on her desk, leaning toward him to emphasize her point. He should be thanking a higher power that he had the desk to shield him. "You said a man can love one woman and have sex with another without thinking he did something wrong!"

"Some men!" He clarified again, his volume rising. He sprang up, mimicking her pose: hands on the desk, leaning in towards her. Their noses only inches apart. His eyes snapped with impatience. "You keep misunderstanding me!"

"I misunderstood nothing," She shot back. "You said that women mix up physical attraction and honest affection, but men don't!"

"Exactly! They're not the same thing." He declared righteously. "And I can separate the two unlike you!"

"Really?" She challenged, knowing he was full of it.

"Really!"

"Fine!" She grabbed his face, pulled him to her, and kissed him. Full on the lips. His mouth was already open to make his next statement so she didn't have to work too hard. She gave him the hottest, wettest, most demanding kiss she knew how to give - and truth be told she hadn't known until her lips touched Harm's that she even knew how to kiss like this. She did have to work very hard, however, to keep from falling into all the heady feelings this kiss was awakening. The moment Harm started responding with real enthusiasm, delivering a low groan from deep in his throat, his hands sliding up her arms, Mac was reminded of her original mission. Her incredibly stupid original mission.

She pulled back with some difficulty, taking great care to set her features to a neutral expression and look him right in the eye. "Well, I guess you were right," She said somewhat evenly, catching her breath, her heart beating a mile a minute, her body thrumming with desire. She hid it all from him, though. "I didn't feel a thing."

With that, she walked around her desk, pulled open her office door and marched out without looking back.

She made it to the women's room intact, though on wobbly knees. She rested her hands on the sink counter and leaned forward, closing her eyes. Wow. That felt really, really good. Mac looked at her reflection in the mirror, embarrassment flushing her cheeks. How on earth was she going to be able to look Harm in the face after this? She'd pulled one of his moves, throwing good reason to the wind just to make a point in an argument.

Oh goodness, Sarah MacKenzie, what have you done?


End file.
